 | You scored as Bette, You and bette would make a cute couple!
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This is the text of the Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005. I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories. The first story is about connecting the dots. I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out? It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college. And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting. It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example: Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating. None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later. Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life. My second story is about love and loss. I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating. I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over. I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life. During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together. I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle. My third story is about death. When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something. Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes. I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now. This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept: No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true. Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions. Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. Thank you all very much. |
| NY Yankees | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
| Wang(W, 17-6) | 7.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3.68 |
By Dan McCourt
NYYFans.com Staff Writer
August 30, 2007
An eerie feeling of deja vu hung over Yankee Stadium Thursday afternoon, as a Yankee starter carried a no-hitter against the Red Sox into the sixth inning for the second consecutive day. Chien-Ming Wang's no-no attempt would last two outs longer, and his shutout finished intact, as the Yanks beat Boston 5-0 to sweep the AL East leaders in three straight.
星期四下午的洋基球場，迴盪著一種似曾相識的詭異感覺。洋基隊的先發投手(也就是老克)，在這系列的第二場比賽，對紅襪投出了六局無安打的內容。王建民不讓對方越雷池一步的企圖，讓對手在七局內更是毫無斬獲，他完美的無失分演出，也讓洋基以5-0的成績打敗了紅襪，以直落三的方式，將美聯東區龍頭橫掃回家。
Adding to the coincidental familiarity was that Chien-Ming Wang struggled with his control much as Roger Clemens had Wednesday night, walking four in seven innings while Clemens donated five free passes through six gutsy, gritty frames. And the two contests shared a subplot as well, as Jason Giambi, shoehorned into first base to get his bat into the lineup, sparked both wins with some stellar defense.
更甚的巧合是，小王跟星期三晚上的老克一樣有著控球上的問題，他在七局裡保送了四位打者，而老克則大膽的在六局中施捨了對手五個上壘的機會。這兩場比賽的次要情節也十分類似，吉昂比為了能排上先發打序，硬是塞入了一壘防守的位置，卻演出了驚人的守備功力，使得這兩場比賽贏得更為漂亮。
The mound opponents in the back-to-back contests represented a sharp contrast though, both in the arsenal of pitches they brought to the game, and in the effectiveness of their outings. Josh Beckett intimidated Wednesday with 96-mph heat and a killer curve. On the other hand, Thursday's Boston starter Curt Schilling showed how much he has lost off his fastball-centered approach. He started Johnny Damon in the bottom of the first with a fastball clocked at 86 mph, and he rarely hit the gun at a higher speed.
這兩場比賽投手丘上的對手則有著截然不同的表現，一樣的是他們都投了不少的球數，且有效的控制比賽。 貝基特用96mph的速球及殺手級的曲球威脅著洋基隊的打者。另一方面，紅襪隊星期四的先發投手席林卻顯示出他已不再以快速球為主要武器。他在一局下對冏尼大門投出了86mph的速球後，之後就很少再讓測速槍秀出更高的球速。
But as much as I would love to tell you that the silence-averse Boston starter was pounded with his fading stuff, I can't. Curt mixed his "heat" with mid-eighties cutters and splits and a slow-breaking curve to keep the home-standing Yanks off balance through seven, during which time he allowed two Robbie Cano opposite field home runs, and little else. In fact, he held all but three Yankees hitters (Cano, the two homers and a line out; Derek Jeter, four-for four on the day; and Melky Cabrera, one-for-two with a walk) to an 0-for-18 day.
我很想大聲的告訴你這位紅襪的投手因為他逐漸凋零的能力而被打爆，但事實上並非如此。 席林用他火燙的"快速球" 搭配了85mph左右的卡特球、指叉球及慢速曲球一路壓著主場的洋基隊到第七局，中間讓卡諾擊出了兩發方向相反的全壘打還有其他一些零星安打。事實上，他鎖住了所有洋基隊的打者-除了打了兩支全壘打的卡諾，四之四的隊長跟兩打數一安打加上一次保送的小牛奶，其他的打者總共18打數無安打。
Schilling struck out two after Jeter's first-inning bingle, and Coco Crisp ran down a Hideki Matsui liner to deep left center in the second. Cano drilled Curt's first third-inning pitch the same way for a home run, but the Yanks failed to add to the score because Crisp made a nice catch running down Johnny Damon's liner to short left center in between Cabrera and Jeter one-base hits. After a one-two-three fourth, there was that man again, and Cano laced his second homer to left center leading off the fifth for a 2-0 lead. Cabrera walked and was doubled off on a hit-and-run when Damon lined the opposite way into Mike Lowell's glove at third. Jeter singled yet again, but Eric Hinske caught up with Bobby Abreu's long drive to left at the wall to close the home team's hardest-hitting frame. Schilling retired the next six to end his day down 2-0 after seven.
Another difference between the Clemens and Wang starts was pitch count. Wang used his hard-sinking fastball to get 10 quick ground ball outs so he could survive one inning longer than the Rocket, and he started the top of the seventh having tossed 85 pitches. The Taiwanese righty may have had his best low-eighties change of pace today, which he used to set up David Ortiz. And once he had the big lefty DH leaning over and looking he twice dropped in an 86-mph slider for two of his five strike outs.
Umpiring played a huge part in the Thursday afternoon tilt, particularly late in the game. The Yanks were upset at a noncall from third base ump Mark Carlson on what appeared to be a swinging strike out by Ortiz in the sixth, though it cost Wang but a few throws, as the Red Sox DH finally fanned three pitches later. Wang coaxed a leadoff Kevin Youkilis bouncer to short in the seventh, and Giambi came off the bag to take a throw that tailed to his left. He swiped a tag at the Boston first baseman that appeared to have him despite a mini-slide, but Ted Barrett ruled him safe, correctly it turned out.
With an error on Jeter's throw (though Giambi should have managed the tag), the no-hitter was intact, but Mike Lowell was the tying run at the plate, and after taking a strike he ended the no-hitter with a clean single to right. Then things got wild as J.D. Drew smacked a grounder to A-Rod, who chose to go for the tag on the approaching Youkilis rather than a 5-4-3. The Boston first sacker could have retreated to thwart Alex's design, but he tried to avoid the tag, running out of the baseline and onto the infield grass to do so, as Alex broke his charge and threw to first to nip Drew.
Carlson, who had a clear view, made no call, and Torre appealed to the other umpires to confer on the clear infraction. After a huddle second base ump Phil Cuzzi punched Youkilis out, and eventually did the same to Terry Francona, who furiously charged the field and would not leave until he got his money's worth. With order restored, Wang struck out Jason Varitek to close the seventh, and his work for the day.
Chien-Ming had the five K's (four swinging), four walks, and the one single allowed through seven. His 63/38 strikes/balls ratio was superb for a guy who struggled with his control, though the just 11 first-pitch strikes to 25 batters was telling. He started the season as a master of the grounder-inducing hard sinking fastball, and has been working in a slider and change all year to varying results. And despite the lapses in control, he may have employed the best mix of his weapons to date in this shutout. He could hardly have picked a better time.
But there are still a few quick chapters left to the book of this game. Joba Chamberlain pitched the eighth, retiring three of four Sox hitters around a two-out Dustin Pedroia double into the right field corner. Chamberlain was effective, but not as dominant as we have already become accustomed to seeing him. Boston countered with lefty Hideki Okajima, who dominated Yankee hitters the first few times they saw him earlier this year, replacing Schilling to start the eighth. Jeter stroked a one-out single, and the recently struggling Bobby Abreu worked a full count, then delivered Jeter with a double to the wall in right center. It was the Yankee right fielder's 400th career double. A-Rod was given a free pass, and the Yanks pulled off a double steal with Matsui up. Varitek's throw toward third sailed into foul territory in short left, and both runners came around to score, forging the 5-0 final score.
With the margin wider, Torre left Mariano Rivera in the pen, making the curious decision to stick with Joba in the ninth, and he retired Ortiz on a fly to left. Chamberlain missed on a pitch to Youkilis, coaxed a foul, then threw a high hard one over his head. The next pitch was to the same spot, well over Youkilis's head, but disconcerting nonetheless, I'm sure. It's a baseball cliche that a well-umpired game is one where there is no reason to notice them, but that Angel Hernandez then ejected Joba without even a warning is the fifth mention of the officiating crew in the last few paragraphs.
Edwar Ramirez finished the walk, struck out Lowell and popped Drew up foul to Andy Phillips at first on a nice play to end the game. The bizarre ending raises several questions but no answers. Why Joba in the ninth? Getting the kid a save would be nice, but that's not why he is here. Was there any intention behind the strangely similar throws over the Boston first baseman's head? Why did Hernandez not warn him first before ejecting him from the game? Will a suspension follow?
I'll shrug off those questions with a ""no clue" aside, but not the fabulous work of the Yankee starters in this three-game sweep. Pitching is supposed to be what separates the Sox from the Yanks, at least statistically speaking, but Andy Pettitte closed a dominant August with a 6-0 mark, the veteran Clemens outdueled Boston's best, and Chien-Ming Wang blanked the Red Sox through seven with a slim 2-0 lead. The young Taiwanese righty has excited baseball fans all around the world, and the Stadium stands were dotted with fan banners in his native language. There was a huge crowd in Tier section 26 who saluted the young righty with a huge red banner and who gave out and waved no. 40 Wang flags all afternoon.
August 30, 2007 is the 210th anniversary of the birth of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, wife of famous English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, but a gothic novelist in her own right as well. She has given the modern world one of the classic monsters of all time in her tome Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus.
Chien-Ming Wang gave the Yankees a monster start Thursday, just when they needed it most.
